A Life-Changing Coversation
by Lilybud the Storyteller
Summary: During their search for the Avatar, Zuko and Toph find out that they have more in common than they believe. Both have tried to be who others want. Both have tried to make their parents proud. And both have been rejected by the ones they love. Now, through a single conversation, they will find a better friend in each other.


**Eh…I suppose that this story broke my rule of not starting a new project before I finished the old one…hehehe oops…I just wanted to rest my creative juices for my previous story, but I still wanted to write something…sooo that's how this one-shot came about.**

**Anyways, I've always had a little issue with the episode in the last book where Aang is missing and everyone is searching for him. In the episode, Toph pairs up with Zuko to look for Aang, claiming that everybody else had a life-changing event with Zuko and now she wanted one. However, in the end Toph winds up pouring out her life story while Zuko is just annoyed. So yup, I've always wondered what would've happened—those two have so much in common that they should have talked more! But I'll leave those commonites for you to read about heheh… **

**So here is what I've made up! Oh, a little warning for those romantic Toph and Zuko fans…I've always viewed Toph as the little sister of the group, so I don't really like pairing her up with anyone…The end scene was just a sweet gesture that I thought suited this nicely. Please don't hate me!**

**Sorry for this long author's note!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Avatar: 'The Last Airbender' I would've made several more seasons. Oh, and some of the dialogue may be part of the actual episodes, but I'm not really sure…honestly!**

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The sun was high in the sky and it beat down relentlessly on Toph's skin. She had gotten used to the suffocating humidity and heat faster than her water-tribe companions, but the weather was even worse at Zuko's family's vacation home. It was so close to the beach, and the sand didn't exactly help much either.

Toph trudged next to the firebender's side in relative silence. They've been searching for Aang for nearly two hours, and so far it has proved useless. If she was on solid ground, she could sense where everything was even miles away and the search would be much easier, but the island's sand limited her range of sight. Everything was disoriented and shifty; it was as if she was seeing the world through unfocused glasses. Every once in a while she would miss something and stub her toe on a stick or rock.

"This is boring," Toph complained when the silence became irritating.

Zuko didn't look back as he continued to walk away. "It's not supposed to be fun, Toph," his voice said sternly. "We need to find Aang as soon as possible."

She didn't even have to see his tense shoulders to now that he was agitated—his voice told it all. More out of habit than necessity, Toph wearily blew a strand of black bangs out of her eyes. She could sense that they were getting deeper into the wilderness of the island as leaves started to brush against her ankles. "You know," she said slowly, "I kind of understand why Aang went away."

The small vibrations in her heel told her that Zuko had looked over his shoulder to gaze at her questioningly.

She went on to explain herself as the firebender pulled a branch out of her path. "Lately he's been really stressed—his heartbeat has been much faster than usual. And you can't exactly blame Twinkle Toes; with the impending doom and all of that anybody would freak out."

Zuko shook his head stubbornly. "That doesn't matter. He has a duty to help people, and he can't just quit when the going gets tough. Nothing would be accomplished that way."

"You're not getting it, Hotshot," Toph said, starting to get frustrated. "You weren't there with Aang in the beginning—okay, you were there trying to kidnap him, but not _actually_ there. My point is that Twinkle Toes has changed a lot: before he was just a sweet and goofy kid who was more in touch with his feminine side. But now…" the earthbender paused as she searched for the right words. "He's just not like that anymore. He's much more serious and a lot less naïve. That's not necessarily a bad thing but he's lost that, I dunno_, childish innocence_. This war has changed him."

"He's grown up," concluded Zuko.

Toph nodded solemnly.

Zuko offered the girl his hand as they crossed a shallow ditch. Toph ignored it and just solidified the sand to hard dirt, filling in the hole. Zuko rolled his eyes as she walked passed him but he didn't say anything. It was hard to decide who was more stubborn: Katara or Toph.

"Oh, and something else," Toph said back as the firebender caught up to her. "Not everybody is as rigid about duty and honor as you are, Hotspot."

Zuko said defensively, "Hey, I'm not that bad! I've changed too, you know!"

The girl smirked and said in a bad imitation of the firebender's voice, _"That doesn't matter. He has a __**duty**__ to help people, and he can't just quit when the going gets tough."_

Zuko could feel his face go red and he hissed angrily, "And what would you know about duty?"

To his surprise, Toph just flung her head back and laughed. "I know more about it than you would think, princey."

He tried not to seethe at his new nickname—between the two he preferred Hotshot better. "What do you mean?" he asked between clenched teeth.

Toph gracefully scaled over a medium sized rock. Her feet landed with a small thump as she answered. "Believe it or not, but you're looking at a rich, and at one point, sophisticated city-girl."

The firebender blinked as the so-called sophisticated girl picked her nose. For a moment Zuko didn't know what to say. He knew that Toph ran away from her family, but he never knew her actual past or the reason why she left. Then again, he still had his doubts of the girl's story—after joining the group he had quickly found out that Toph was an experienced trickster. Zuko said the first thing that popped into his head. "You're serious?"

"Yup," Toph said, casually flicking a booger. "I'm from the Bei Fong family of the Earth Kingdom."

"Never heard of it."

"_You_ wouldn't. In the Earth Kingdom my family has a high authority—which really just means that they go to a lot of fancy parties."

"If you were that well off then why did you leave?"

"Why did you?"

His shoulders tensed up. Though he has started a new life, his past was still a touchy subject. "You already know why—my father banished me."

Toph shook her head. "No, I meant when you left to join us."

"Oh." He instantly relaxed (or as much as Zuko could), once he realized that he was at fault for assuming. "Well, I…just decided that I wasn't what my father wanted. And I realized that I didn't want to impress him any longer like I once did—that would be pretending to be someone I wasn't. And I wasn't about to destroy the whole world either."

For once, all the teasing was gone from Toph's voice. "You weren't what your father and everyone else saw you as—what they wanted you to be. You decided that _you_ would choose who you are and not them—you would choose your own destiny."

Zuko glanced at the girl. "You sound just like my uncle."

A small smile appeared on Toph's face. "He's a very wise man. You're lucky that you were with him."

"And I ruined that," the firebender said bitterly. "If that is the one thing that I regret most in my life, it would be that I betrayed him."

Without looking, Toph punched Zuko on the arm. He winced as she said, "Don't be an idiot, Hotspot. Your uncle loved you, and he would be happy to see that you're on the right path now."

Even though he didn't answer, Toph knew that he was grateful for her words. However, the moment would've been much sweeter if Zuko's arm wasn't hurting. For just a kid, that girl could punch _hard_. Going back to his previous questions he asked, "So why did you leave?"

"I thought that you had already guessed." Toph shrugged nonchalantly. "My parents wanted me to be that prim and proper little girl that belonged in high society, but I just wasn't."

"Obviously," Zuko muttered. "Ow! Stop punching me!"

Toph continued, not seeing the prince's glares but guessing they were present anyways. "Ever since the day I was born, my parents believed that my blindness made me weak. They thought they were protecting me by isolation, but instead I felt like I was missing out on the world around me. So one day I wanted to see everything myself and ran away from home. I had somehow made my way to an old cave, and that's where I had met the badgermoles. From them, I was able to learn Earthbending. After that I realized what I was missing, and I wanted to experience everything-to go out and see the world. Earthbending gave me the chance I couldn't have otherwise, but I knew that my parents wouldn't approve of it. They thought I was too weak to handle bending, so that's why I snuck out and eventually became The Blind Bandit." Toph smiled fondly. "It was my one chance to just be myself and to show people that I was strong. That is, until a certain fancy dancer decided to knock me out of the ring."

Zuko raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember hearing that story."

Toph waved off his prompt. "I'll tell you later. Anyways, as your uncle helped you to realize who you are, the others helped me to realize that I could do more—_be more_. Without them, I would have never gone off to make my own destiny. Instead, I would always be wearing a mask."

"So how did your parents react to you running away?" Zuko asked, trying not to let on how curious he was.

Toph's voice wavered but she tried to keep it light. "Oh, once they found out that I could expertly Earthbend they thought I was a savage and would've locked me up 24/7 if I had let them. They had even sent two idiots to try and '_rescue me'_ when I had run away. So yeah, I have a few parental issues."

"At least they cared. That's more than I could say of my own father," Zuko said bitterly, but then he looked at the girl. Her head was down and she didn't seem to have that usual enthusiasm to her. Even though she was tough as nails, he could see how much the issue really bothered her. Behind her bangs he could see the ghosts of her blind, gray eyes. Without realizing it, his hand crept to his scar. The girl who Zuko thought had nothing in common with him, reminded the prince of years ago when his own father had rejected him. Though Zuko and Toph were years apart, they had both experienced the same things. Maybe they were more alike than either of them realized…

Zuko pondered this when he suddenly heard a crash and Toph's voice swearing. _"I hate this stupid sand!"_ Toph was sprawled on the ground with her hands cupping her right foot. Behind her was a large root that Zuko figured she must've tripped on.

"Are you okay?" Zuko rushed to the girl.

"What do you think, genius?" Toph snapped, and it was quickly followed by words that a sophisticated lady would _never_ say. The firebender sighed as he looped one arm under the girl's legs and the other behind her back.

"H-hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Toph stuttered; she flailed her legs as Zuko lifted her up.

"Carrying you. Otherwise we'll be here forever," he said simply, ignoring her protests. "Besides, I still owe you for burning your feet."

"I was thinking along the lines of you covering for me when one of my pranks go wrong—not picking me up!" She tried to thwack the boy on the head, but he just evaded her throws.

"Just shut up, already."

Toph crossed her arms but realized it was no use to protest. Neither of them realized that while they were talking they had searched the whole island with no sign of Aang. So Zuko carried Toph all the way back to the main house—and if Toph was to admit it, she secretly enjoyed it. _"Best life-changing event ever,"_ Toph thought smugly.

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**There! Hope you liked it! Sorry if it's badly edited; it was just a little practice-project I had wanted to do. If you have any constructive criticism or if you just like it, then please review! Don't you love the look of that review button?**

**Oh, and to answer everyone's question about the color of Toph's eyes: If I'm correct, they could be described as either a light green or gray. When I first watched the TV show I've always thought they were gray, so that's how I describe them. Sorry if I'm wrong!**


End file.
